Data

THE MOMENT: A preserved
ship sturgeon sits in the local
history museum of Aralsk,
Kazakhstan. In the decades
since 1960, the nearby Aral
Sea, where the fish once
lived, has shrunk to a quarter
of its original size because
of the diversion of rivers for
irrigation. This species is now
locally extinct and is critically
endangered worldwide. But
the Aral Sea itself may be
recovering: A dam built in 2005
has brought rising water levels
to its northern part.
STURGEON
GENERAL